Post by New Owner on Apr 11, 2016 15:44:37 GMT -5
Afternoon,
I have two PP hermit crabs I got a month ago, JV and pancake, they are nickel sized, big grape? Size is still hard for me to determine. I have a ten gallon standard tank, with six inches of sand and coconut fiber purchased from the hermit crab patch. The lid is slotted, but I live in Texas, and my house is pretty naturally humid, cause I like it hot 78-80. They do also have damp soil, I can build with it, and a side tank stick on heater from zoo-med at one end. The temp gage arrives today, but my apartment never drops below 78, and I spray the tank daily. I use distilled water, and have a instant ocean mix from HCP. I have two pools, both about an inch deep, and I feed them a mix from the HCP, the worm casings, oyster shells, mineral supplements, protien fix and basic diet, plush a new fresh fruit or other food every day. No isolation tank. I have coconut hide, and one that I put together out of what was supposed to be a climbing background. When I bought them, I had three extra shells per crab, and now that they've both left their painted ones, more arrive today, properly sized. I've become quite attached in just this month, which surprises me, and i feel like I'm probably hovering, but still...they're freaking me out.
When I first brought them home, JV switched shells the first night. Pancake didn't. I fed them consistently, and kept things okay. They spent most of their days hiding in the coconut, but came out in the evenings, and visibly left things disturbed the next morning. Dirt in the waterdish, thrown food, moved sponges...etc.. Pancake dug about three inches in, and JV hovered, so i blocked him off, but he never covered himself, and came out about a day later. Then about five days ago, pancake swapped shells, and it turned into a game of musical shells. Now Pancake and JV are both in turbo's, I don't know if they traded or not, but pancake tried at least one over, and I watched JV inspect the other five for a good 20 minutes. Then they went into the tunnel, (not the coconut) and have been there, virtually unmoving ever since. Pancake is like a statue, and JV just sits there, hiding whenever I check on him. They don't eat, from what I can tell they haven't moved. I've kept things humid, and fresh food available, but what on earth? Aren't they supposed to bury if molting? And why is JV hovering? Do they molt together? Or is JV waiting to munch on poor pancake? I haven't moved them, or touched them since this happened. But I'm just wondering if I need to separate them, even though they've been practically snuggled up together since the start. Help would be appreciated, I really don't want to come home and find pancake dead. Thank you!
I have two PP hermit crabs I got a month ago, JV and pancake, they are nickel sized, big grape? Size is still hard for me to determine. I have a ten gallon standard tank, with six inches of sand and coconut fiber purchased from the hermit crab patch. The lid is slotted, but I live in Texas, and my house is pretty naturally humid, cause I like it hot 78-80. They do also have damp soil, I can build with it, and a side tank stick on heater from zoo-med at one end. The temp gage arrives today, but my apartment never drops below 78, and I spray the tank daily. I use distilled water, and have a instant ocean mix from HCP. I have two pools, both about an inch deep, and I feed them a mix from the HCP, the worm casings, oyster shells, mineral supplements, protien fix and basic diet, plush a new fresh fruit or other food every day. No isolation tank. I have coconut hide, and one that I put together out of what was supposed to be a climbing background. When I bought them, I had three extra shells per crab, and now that they've both left their painted ones, more arrive today, properly sized. I've become quite attached in just this month, which surprises me, and i feel like I'm probably hovering, but still...they're freaking me out.
When I first brought them home, JV switched shells the first night. Pancake didn't. I fed them consistently, and kept things okay. They spent most of their days hiding in the coconut, but came out in the evenings, and visibly left things disturbed the next morning. Dirt in the waterdish, thrown food, moved sponges...etc.. Pancake dug about three inches in, and JV hovered, so i blocked him off, but he never covered himself, and came out about a day later. Then about five days ago, pancake swapped shells, and it turned into a game of musical shells. Now Pancake and JV are both in turbo's, I don't know if they traded or not, but pancake tried at least one over, and I watched JV inspect the other five for a good 20 minutes. Then they went into the tunnel, (not the coconut) and have been there, virtually unmoving ever since. Pancake is like a statue, and JV just sits there, hiding whenever I check on him. They don't eat, from what I can tell they haven't moved. I've kept things humid, and fresh food available, but what on earth? Aren't they supposed to bury if molting? And why is JV hovering? Do they molt together? Or is JV waiting to munch on poor pancake? I haven't moved them, or touched them since this happened. But I'm just wondering if I need to separate them, even though they've been practically snuggled up together since the start. Help would be appreciated, I really don't want to come home and find pancake dead. Thank you!